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Norwich manager Chris Hughton hailed the contribution of Wes Hoolahan after the Republic of Ireland playmaker celebrated signing a new contract with the winning goal in their 2-1 Barclays Premier League victory over Wigan at Carrow Road.

The Canaries, knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Aston Villa here in midweek, made it five successive home league victories to continue their remarkable run of 10 Premier League matches unbeaten.

Heads up: Wes Hoolahan nods home Norwich's second goal to put his side in the lead

Good start: Anthony Pilkington celebrates after breaking the deadlock in the first half

Anthony Pilkington set the home side
on their way with a well-taken effort after 15 minutes, only for Wigan
substitute Shaun Maloney to level at the start of the second half.

However, Hoolahan, who has agreed an
extension to stay at the Norfolk club until 2015, arrived on queue after
64 minutes to head past Ali Al Habsi.

'Fortunately for us Wes has signed a new deal and he has earned it, and not just for this season,' said Hughton.

'He was excellent today and to see Wes get a headed goal was worth the entrance fee alone.

'Wes capped off a really good all-round team performance.'

Norwich should have put the game
beyond the visitors, who were again hampered by injuries, but were
thwarted by a string of fine saves from the Latics stopper.

Hughton said: 'We should really have been more than the one up at half-time and when they scored, then there was a concern.

'We made a bit of hard work for ourselves, but I thought over the 90 minutes we thoroughly deserved it.'

Back on track: Wigan celebrate after Shaun Maloney (second right) scored their equaliser

Take that: Goalkeeper Mark Bunn roars with delight as Norwich regain the lead

Norwich's remarkable run – they have
not lost in the Premier League since defeat at Chelsea on October 6 –
has seen them climb up to seventh in the table.

Hughton, though, maintained it was
all about keeping a safe distance from any relegation dogfight, with a
trip to West Brom next weekend before Chelsea and Manchester City head
to Norfolk over the hectic festive schedule.

Hitman: Holt fires a shot towards goal, with Norwich on top of their opponents

Drive: Alexander Tettey launches a strike at Ali Al-Habsi's goal

'It is not being negative, but for a
club like ourselves, it is about keeping as big as gap as you can
between us and down,' said Hughton.

'There is no shame in saying that, it is a reality for clubs like ourselves.

'But our form at the moment has deserved it.

'We are a team which has to work very hard for the points we get, so there will be no getting carried away.'

Wigan, meanwhile, have now lost five of the last seven and remain in the bottom three.

The Latics job was not made any
easier following an ankle injury to midfielder James McCarthy, who was
replaced at half-time following a crunching tackle by Bradley Johnson.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez hit out at the Canaries midfielder.

'It was a nasty challenge, one incident off the ball,' the Spaniard said.

Tussle: Jean Beausejour (right) and Norwich City's Robert Snodgrass battle for the ball

Go for it: Roberto Martinez urged his players on as they struggled

'The referee has seen it and has given Johnson a yellow card.

'It is one of those actions you don't
want to see. James McCarthy has been in good form, and they took him
out of the game, which is very disappointing.'

Martinez added: 'It is his ankle
ligaments, we will X-ray it and get the results from the scans very
shortly, but I doubt if he will be available for the next 10 days.'

Wigan have several key men missing
through injury, notably in defence, and Martinez felt his team had
simply failed to get themselves a foothold in the match.

Good day: Chris Hughton (left) saw his side emerge triumphant with Hoolahan (right) in fine fettle

Wigan, meanwhile, have now lost five
of the last seven and remain in the bottom three despite equalising at
the start of the second half through substitute Shaun Maloney, after
Anthony Pilkington had opened the scoring.

There was not much to choose between
the sides during the opening stages, before Norway midfielder Alex
Tettey, back from a thigh problem, tried his luck from 25 yards with a
low effort which flew wide.

The Canaries were ahead on 15 minutes.

Hoolahan, whose new contract take him
up to 2015, carried the ball to the edge of the Wigan penalty area and
then won a 50/50 with Emmerson Boyce to stab a pass through to
Pilkington.

The winger took the ball in his stride
before smashing a left-foot drive past Latics keeper Ali Al Habsi and
into the roof of the net.

Wigan looked for a quick response, but
there was a break in play when James McCarthy needed treatment after a
strong challenge by Bradley Johnson, which resulted in the Norwich
midfielder being shown a yellow card.

James McArthur let fly with an angled
drive which Norwich keeper Mark Bunn, replacing injured England
international John Ruddy, held on to at the second attempt.

Referee Lee Probert then incurred the
wrath of the Barclay Stand when he showed Pilkington a yellow card for
diving, when replays suggested the Norwich winger had been tripped by
defender Adrian Lopez as he cut back towards the penalty area.

Pilkington almost hooked the ball in after Al Habsi had spilled a right-wing cross from Robert Snodgrass.

Full-back Steven Whittaker had scored a
fine individual goal in last week's 4-3 win at Swansea and the Scotland
defender surged forwards after 34 minutes to the edge of the Wigan
penalty area before drilling a low, angled shot just wide.

Back on track: Wigan celebrate after Shaun Maloney (second right) scored their equaliser

Take that: Goalkeeper Mark Bunn roars with delight as Norwich regain the lead

Al Habsi then produced a brilliant
one-handed save to turn away a bullet header from Snodgrass after
left-back Javier Garrido had lofted the ball to the far post.

Latics boss Roberto Martinez made a
double change for the second half as midfielders Maloney and David Jones
replaced Jordi Gomez and McCarthy.

It was Norwich, though, who again
showed an early threat as Grant Holt – making his 150th appearance –
drilled in an angled effort which Al Habsi palmed behind.

Hitman: Holt fires a shot towards goal, with Norwich on top of their opponents

Drive: Alexander Tettey launches a strike at Ali Al-Habsi's goal

Wigan were level on 51 minutes.

Arouna Kone carried the ball into the
left side of the Norwich penalty area, before he pulled a pass back to
the edge of the box where Maloney crashed his shot into the net.

The goal completely changed the
dynamic of the match as the hosts suddenly looked devoid of ideas and
uncomfortable in possession.

Norwich put some pressure on Wigan
again as the hour mark passed, but Holt could only send a scissors-kick
horribly wide from Snodgrass' floated ball to the far post.

Tussle: Jean Beausejour (right) and Norwich City's Robert Snodgrass battle for the ball

Go for it: Roberto Martinez urged his players on as they struggled

Referee Probert had been taking plenty
of flak from the home fans, but played a good advantage after Snodgrass
had been bodychecked and Norwich broke quickly down the left through
Pilkington.

The former Huddersfield winger drove
on to the goalline, where he cut back inside Boyce before delivering a
teasing cross, which Hoolahan headed past Al Habsi on 64 minutes.

Norwich continued to ask questions of the visitors.

Good day: Chris Hughton (left) saw his side emerge triumphant with Hoolahan (right) in fine fettle

Johnson tested the Wigan goalkeeper
with a low effort from 20 yards, before Al Habsi produced another fine
save to deny Pilkington.

With seven minutes to go, Hoolahan was replaced by Jonny Howson and the diminutive midfielder left to a standing ovation.

Sebastian Bassong made a brilliant
last-ditch tackle to block Kone in stoppage time as Norwich closed out a
fifth straight home win – with Chelsea and Manchester City the next
visitors to Norfolk over the hectic festive schedule.

Standing firm: Naismith won't back down in Rangers row as striker battles former club

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UPDATED:

23:15 GMT, 12 December 2012

Steven Naismith has maintained he will not back down from his legal dispute with Rangers and instead insisted he owes the Ibrox club nothing.

The Everton star is one of a posse of former players defending themselves against legal action brought by Ibrox chief executive Charles Green after they quit the club on free transfers in the summer.

Green wants the new clubs of Naismith, Steven Whittaker, Jamie Ness, Sone Aluko and Kyle Lafferty to pay compensation for signing players who walked out after objecting to their contracts being switched from the Rangers oldco to the newco.

Won't back down: Steven Naismith is involved in a dispute with Rangers

The Ibrox club will learn in January if they have the right to pursue compensation via the SFA. If that is unsuccessful, Green has threatened to pursue the cash via the courts.

Unable to have their international clearance certificates transferred to their new clubs in the meantime, Aluko, Lafferty and Ness are counter-suing the Ibrox club for ‘constructive dismissal’.

Naismith says he wants no part in suing Rangers but is determined to defend himself from legal threats.

And, despite accepting a 75-per-cent wage cut when the club entered administration, he insists he is not after a penny.

‘I think 90 per cent of people that talk about this don’t know half of what happened,’ said Naismith in Glasgow.

New start: Naismith left Rangers to join Everton in the summer

‘I took legal advice and made the decisions I made.

‘I’m not looking to go after the club for money for 90 days’ pay or anything like that — it’s not something I’ve thought about or been interested in.‘There’s so much going on, so many different cases.

‘People think it’s one big thing and everyone’s name gets thrown in the pot.

‘People want to say things as they think they know everything. But the people closest to me know what happened — and what’s gone on, on my part anyway.

‘You’re never going to make everyone happy.’

No brainer: Naismith left Ibrox after Rangers were relegated

Taking advice from lawyers, Naismith admitted the prospect of counter-suing Rangers was raised.

Already unable to walk through the door at Ibrox amid the bitterness, he opted instead to concentrate on his new career at Everton.

And, frustrated that fans rarely mention the financial sacrifices players made when they took substantial wage cuts to keep others in their jobs, Naismith insists he never intended to leave Rangers and would still have been there but for financial meltdown in February.

‘In a couple of years, people will look back and say they did that (wage cuts) for the good of the club,’ he said. ‘People might think there were other agendas or we were only doing it for certain reasons, but the players know what we were trying to do at the outset. That was to try to stop the club from getting liquidated.’

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Swansea rallied through strikes from Michu and Jonathan De Guzman, but Robert Snodgrass made sure of the win with an excellent free-kick, before Michu netted again in injury time.

Both sides' excellent recent form suggested a tight encounter, but Norwich blew those predictions out of the water with a superb first-half display to punish the sluggish Swans, who were without the injured Leon Britton.

The combination of a tigerish midfield effort from the likes of Snodgrass, Jonny Howson and Wes Hoolahan, and the same trio's neat link work in attack, proved too much for their hosts to contend with.

There were warning signs inside the opening seconds as Bradley
Johnson met Snodgrass' corner to force a save from Gerhard Tremmel.

The pressure built as Swansea were hassled and harried out of their
rhythm and Howson rattled the base of the post after seizing on Ben
Davies' weak defensive header.

The Canaries took a deserved lead in the 16th minute. Snodgrass laid the
ball off to Whittaker, and the ex-Rangers man was allowed to run and
run before cutting in and firing low past Tremmel for his first Norwich
goal.

On his knees: Swansea City goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel

Head case: Swansea striker Miguel Michu celebrates scoring a goal

Snodgrass forced another save from Tremmel as he cut in from the right
flank, before Swansea briefly rediscovered some of the zip that had seen
them rise as high as seventh in the table.

Their first genuine goalscoring chance came after 28 minutes. Danny
Graham did well to connect with De Guzman's flicked cross, only to see
his header come back off the bar.

Michu almost lucked into an equaliser five minutes later, the Spaniard's
drive took a huge deflection off Wayne Routledge to leave Mark Bunn
stranded, but the ball spun just wide of his right-hand post.

Swansea had been building momentum, but they were stopped in their tracks as Bassong struck for the third time in four games.

On song: Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong scores their second goal

Ruled out: Norwich goalkeeper Bunn is fouled by Michu (9) before Shechter turns the ball into the net

Holt hoisted a cross to the far post, where the defender rose above Davies to beat Tremmel at the German's near post.

Just two minutes later it was 3-0.
Snodgrass' perfectly delivered free-kick picked out an unmarked Holt,
who easily steered his header beyond Tremmel to cap a superb first half
for the Canaries.
Johnson almost made it 4-0 just two minutes after the break.

Angel Rangel gifted the ball to the
visitors on the edge of his own box and Howson's delightful lobbed pass
picked out his midfield partner who manufactured an outside of the foot
volley which struck the bar.

Michu gave Swansea a route back into
the game as he slotted into the far corner from Davies' low ball across
the box in the 51st minute.

The Spaniard almost turned provider for Graham, and Bunn had to make a sharp save to deny the striker with Norwich starting to show signs of nerves and the game bearing little resemblance to the opening 45 minutes.

Those nerves only increased as Swansea got back within a goal on 59 minutes. Nathan Dyer outpaced Javier Garrido down the flank, and when his cross was not cleared De Guzman volleyed in.Graham could have levelled eight minutes later but Garrido did superbly to intervene as the striker ran in on goal.

His replacement Itay Shechter had the ball in the net soon after as Bunn failed to hold the ball under pressure from Michu, but referee Howard Webb ruled the Spaniard had fouled the keeper.

Michu then headed wide as he made a trademark late arrival into the box, before Norwich doused Swansea's fire with their fourth of the afternoon.

Ashley Williams was adjudged to have hauled down Holt, but was only booked by Webb despite clearly being the last man.

Snodgrass stepped up to curl home a beautiful strike from the resulting free-kick and secure the points for Norwich, meaning Michu's second in injury time was not enough for Swansea.

Southampton 1 Norwich 1: Clattenburg back with a clanger with Lambert on hand to take advantage

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UPDATED:

22:12 GMT, 28 November 2012

Mark Clattenburg probably hoped for a gentle re-introduction into Premier League refereeing. He did not get it.

Taking charge of a football match for the first-time since being wrongly accused of racially abusing John Mikel Obi, the official missed a crucial handball in the lead up to Southampton taking the lead, before being targeted with cries of 'you don't know what you're doing' and 'you're not fit to referee' from Saints supporters as Norwich fought their way back into this encounter.

It all started so well for Clattenburg, as he was given a standing ovation during his pre-match warm up. But little did he know how feelings towards him would change.

How the referee would fare on his
return to frontline action would have been the last thing on the minds
the two managers, Nigel Adkins of Southampton and Norwich’s Chris
Hughton. Both sides went into the game in promising form.

Since emerging victorious from ‘El
Sackico’ against Queens Park Rangers 12 days ago, Southampton swept
Newcastle aside on Sunday to keep Adkins in a job — for now.

Likewise, Norwich have gone seven games unbeaten — a run that has included wins over Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham.

Hughton’s glee was tempered somewhat
before kick-off with the news that first-choice goalkeeper John Ruddy
will miss at least three months as he prepares to have surgery on a
thigh problem.

Norwich created the first
opportunity, goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga producing an excellent save to
stop Anthony Pilkington’s effort in the fifth minute.

Eight minutes later, Clattenburg made
his first major decision, waving away Southampton’s claims for a
penalty after Adam Lallana went down under pressure from Sebastien
Bassong.

Welcome return: Referee Mark Clattenburg took charge of his first game since his Chelsea race row hell

Welcome return: Mark Clattenburg was given a standing ovation at St Mary's before officiating his first game since the Chelsea race storm

The Saints skipper then went within
inches of putting his side ahead with a spectacular volley when his
sweet strike from Lambert’s arrowing pass flew just over Mark Bunn’s
bar.

But the home side only had to wait
seven more minutes to take the lead — but it came in controversial
circumstances, with Clattenburg at the centre of it.

Lallana swung in a
free-kick from the left, Grant Holt made a hash of his attempted
defensive header before the ball clearly hit Lambert on the arm.

On target: Rickie Lambert pokes past Mark Bunn to give Saints the lead

On target: Rickie Lambert makes no mistake, converting from inside the six yard box

Bright start: Rickie Lambert's sixth of the season first Saints ahead

However, Clattenburg ignored
Norwich’s appeal for handball before Lambert took advantage of the
uncertainty to prod home from close range.

Gaston Ramirez went close to doubling the home side’s lead with curling free-kick that flew narrowly wide of Bunn’s far post.

Massive clanger: Saints keeper Paulo Gazzaniga allowed Robert Snodgrass' free-kick to slip through his hands just before the break

Pure delight: Robert Snodgrass looks stunned after Paulo Gazzaniga's howler let Norwich back into the game

But on the stroke of half-time,
Norwich dragged themselves level, thanks in part to Clattenburg. The
referee awarded Hughton’s side a free-kick on the edge of the area for
Nathaniel Clyne’s challenge on Snodgrass — and the Norwich midfielder
struck a shot that somehow went through Gazzaniga and into the back of
the net.

Clattenburg was treated to
renditions of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’, from home supporters,
who had grown frustrated at the number of decisions that had gone
Norwich’s way.

Clyne made a superb tackle to deny
Pilkington in the 60th minute as Norwich started the second half with
renewed vigour, before Gazzaniga made up for his first-half error with a
brilliant save from Holt header.

Jason Puncheon then saw his low
powerful drive well saved by Bunn as Southampton were denied the win
that would have lifted them out of the bottom three.

John Ruddy was entitled to bask in the glow of victory against Manchester United and he pumped his fists in the air as Carrow Road rattled to the sound of his surname.

Norwich leaked 17 goals in the first seven games in an awful start to their second season back at the top, with a new manager and various new defenders at the club.

But a corner has been turned and Ruddy was unbeatable against United as Chris Hughton’s team defended stoutly to protect the lead they took through Anthony Pilkington’s header. He became the first player to score against United and FC United.

Safe hands: John Ruddy was the star of the show as Norwich beat United

The goalkeeper exuded authority, commanding his back four, even tipping one over from team-mate Sebastien Bassong as Roy Hodgson looked on from the stands three days after Joe Hart’s standards slipped on England duty in Sweden.

'I've been impressed with John, especially in recent games,' said Hughton. 'Against United, it wasn’t so much saving one-on-one efforts, or turning it around the posts, it was about making good decisions.

'That’s a mark of a really good keeper when you have to make good decisions in a game where you didn’t have a lot of one-on-ones to make.'

Norwich have gone 333 minutes without conceding in the Barclays Premier League and there has been a distinct change since the mid-October international break.

They leaked nine in two games before the break but one in five since. They have also knocked Tottenham out of the Capital One Cup.

‘The Arsenal game kick-started our season,’ said defender Steven Whittaker. ‘It gave us a boost. You need to believe.’

Will that plug the leak Norwich to sign twice relegated Bassong from Spurs

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UPDATED:

09:56 GMT, 21 August 2012

Norwich look set to strengthen their leaky defence with the capture of Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong on a three-year deal.

The Cameroon international is out of favour at White Hart Lane and spent the second half of last season on loan at Wolves, where he failed to prevent the club from slipping into the Championship.

Wanted: Tottenham's Sebastien Bassong looks to be on his way to Norwich

Bassong, who was Newcastle's player of the season in 2009, joined Spurs for 8million three years ago but is now behind Jan Vertonghen, William Gallas, Younes Kaboul, Michael Dawson and Steven Caulker in the pecking order.

Norwich are desperate to add to the defensive ranks having shipped five goals on the Premier League's opening weekend as they were thashed by Fulham.

New manager Chris Hughton has already bought in Michael Turner from Sunderland for a nominal fee, while Steven Whittaker arrived from stricken Rangers.

Turner prize: The former Hull City and Sunderland defender has joined Norwich

City Manager Hughton told Canaries.co.uk: 'I'm delighted to be able to bring Michael into the squad as he is a player with a wealth of Premier League experience.

'At 28 years old he is joining us at a good age, and I'm happy to have been able to welcome him to Norwich City.

'Like with Snodgrass, Butterfield, and Whittaker, it's nice to bring players in with a good amount of time left in pre-season so they are able to gel with the squad ahead of the first game of the season.'

Turner added: 'I'm delighted. The deal is all signed now and I'm happy to be here.

'The manager needs to want you first and foremost to get the ball rolling, and that was the key with Chris Hughton.

McGregor could swap Rangers for Besiktas as Turks hold talks with Scotland keeper

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UPDATED:

15:21 GMT, 10 July 2012

Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor is in talks with Besiktas.

McGregor, 30, is one of several players who have, following advice from PFA Scotland, rejected the chance to transfer their contracts from Rangers to Charles Green's newco.

Steven Naismith has moved to Everton, Steven Whittaker has signed for Norwich and Jamie Ness has joined Stoke.

Heading out of Ibrox: Allan McGregor could be on his way to Turkey

Northern Ireland duo Steve Davis and Kyle Lafferty are at Southampton and Swiss side Sion respectively, and McGregor could be next to leave Govan, with the Besiktas website stating that the club 'began talks with goalkeeper Allan McGregor'.

Despite Lafferty making his debut for Sion in a 1-1 friendly draw against Marseille on Sunday, none of the five players who have found new clubs have received international clearance as Rangers newco continue to dispute the players' status.

Green rejects the claim that the players are free agents and the former Sheffield United chief executive sent letters to clubs across the UK warning them that the players who objected to the switch to the newco were in breach of contract.

Steven Davis became the latest player to put the Rangers saga behind them by signing a three-year deal at Southampton.

The 27-year-old was captain of the beleaguered Scottish side but left after rejecting a transfer to the newco club.

Davis follows the likes of Kyle Lafferty and Steven Whittaker out of the club and has joined newly-promoted Saints until 2015.

'I'm delighted to get everything done and dusted, and I'm looking forward to getting started,' Davis told the club's official website, www.saintsfc.co.uk.

'There was quite a bit of interest in me from other clubs but, after speaking to the chairman and the manager, I saw the level of ambition the club has shown.

'They've had a lot of success over the past couple of years to get to this stage, and they don't want to stand still – they want to keep moving forward, and that was a big thing for me.

'Now I'm just looking forward to getting down, getting to know the boys and getting started.'

The move marks Davis' return the Barclays Premier League, where he played for both Aston Villa and Fulham.'

The central midfielder left the latter for Rangers in 2008 after an initial loan and went on to win the 2010 Scottish Players' Player of the Year and captain the Ibrox club.'

Davis is now skipper of the Northern Ireland national team and Saints manager Nigel Adkins is delighted to have made a signing of his calibre.

'It's very good and I'm very pleased,' he said. 'Obviously the work the club has gone and done to make it happen is really promising for the future.

'Steven's an experienced player – a very talented football player who has played international football, captained his country, captained Rangers, and played in the Premier League, so he's at a good age and comes with a wealth of experience as well.

'We work very hard behind the scenes and we're delighted that the football club has managed to secure his services.'

Davis becomes Southampton's second signing since promotion back to the top flight, following Jay Rodriguez's 6million move from Burnley.